Agreement Affects Access to DNA Data From Cells of Henrietta Lacks

The National Institutes of Health on Wednesday said it reached an unprecedented agreement to protect the privacy of the family of a woman whose cancer cells have been used as a basis for thousands of medical studies in recent decades.

The pact, which affects researchers' access to DNA data from laboratory cells derived from the tumor tissue, addresses a thorny issue—how to balance the needs of researchers and the rights of patients...